First time making cider...

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

bri11oh34d

Active Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2008
Messages
26
Reaction score
2
Just want to go through my steps here and make sure I'm ready to go...please correct me or offer suggestions...I'm looking to make a nice clear, sweeter cider, perhaps with some carbonation...

1. Getting 5 gallons of unpastuerized cider today from local orchard.
2. Throw the cider in a better bottle along with 5 campden tablets crushed
3. 12 hours later put in the pectic enzyme (how much?)
4. 12 hours later put in the yeast (S-04) and let sit for a few weeks
5. Backsweeten with non-fermentable sugar and carb with fermentable sugar before bottling if necessary (how much of each? a general range would be helpful as I realize this is mostly preference...but i dont want to oversweeten or create bombs)

Some simple questions then...

1. What is a good OG? I have no idea if I should add some sugar or honey at the start...I would like an ABV of about 7%ish... 2. What will be the effects of using white sugar, brown sugar, or honey?
3. And at what point do i put the additional starting sugar in? before the campden or after? I'm jsut worried that going with 5 straight gallons of fresh cider there won't be enough starting sugar...
4. Also, my ingredient kit came with grape tannin and acid blend...when and for what reasons would I want to use these?

Sorry for all the beginner questions but I do appreciate your help...this is definately one of the more friendlier forums I have ever been apart of...

Thanks
 
Others, please verify this. Do you need pectin enzyme? The apples have already been pressed, and it's unpasturized. I don't see anything for the pectin enzyme to do.

Answers:
1. It's better to aim for flavor, as opposed to alcohol. You can always spike it with vodka later.
2. Table sugar reportedly leaves off flavors when compared to dextrose. You probably won't notice anything.
Testing brown sugar as we speak. Early test showed that the brown sugar leaves a bitter taste. Use with discretion.
Honey has some non-fermentables in it. The more honey you use, the more it will taste like mead. I believe that's a good thing.
3. Doesn't really matter. It's probably easiest to add sugar and campden at the same time.
4. Tannins are bitter. They help promote aging (verify?). The acid is there to counter the bitter and improve the flavor. Frankly, you don't NEED either.
 
Yes, the pectic enzyme should be used about 12 hours after the campden, and will help break down the cell walls, so you don't get a pectin haze in the cider.

I'd ferment without any added sugar, but check the SG of the cider first just to make sure you have a decent starting OG. I like 1.050 or so, for a 7% cider. The so4 will probably finish dry, so you can always sweeten to taste later (after stabilizing the cider, or using unfermentable sweeteners) if it's too dry for your taste.
 
Yes, the pectic enzyme should be used about 12 hours after the campden, and will help break down the cell walls, so you don't get a pectin haze in the cider.

Thanks yoop...you know about how much pectic i should use for 5 gallons?
 

Latest posts

Back
Top